Yesterday’s announcement that BMW plans to shut its Mini plant for a month-bringing forward annual maintenance work- straight after the UK’s official departure from the European Union, is big news.

The German carmaker’s decision, enabling it to minimise the impact of a no-deal Brexit that it fears would cause a shortage of parts, will raise concerns of what Brexit could look like.

On a TV bulletin, BMW’s UK CFO Jeremy Stoyle said of the danger to the carmakers’ complex infrastructure: “It’s not just going to affect our operations, but things across the supply chain.”

Maybe BMW is making an assumption that within weeks of chaos following Brexit going live, all parties will rush to forge a new agreement.

But watever happens in six months time, its unlikely to be anything other than hugely challenging for companies like BMW. When asked whether it was really such a big deal, Stoyle’s wry smile said it all.